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Nooo, Guess Who's Leaving Revenge

This news gets me so down, I might have to go stand on an enormously expensive balcony and stare balefully out at the ocean for a while, Victoria Grayson-style: Ashley Madekwe—who plays the conniving, sleeping-around, professional Grayson family hanger-on—will not return for season three of Revenge.

But who's going to teach us how to be perfectly diabolical and impeccably well-tailored at the same time? I'm already disappointed that we won't get to experience Ashley's season three cocktail-dress-as-daywear rotation. (Let's face it, there are few among us with the height to pull off Emily/Amanda's slinky long gowns.) Boo!

I'm actually quite surprised by this for a number of reasons, and none of them should be read by people who haven't finished the season yet, so turn your heads away if you haven't. From a story-line standpoint: Grayson's political coup had me imagining what delightfully unrealistic power-position Ashley might worm her way into on his staff. (After all, she's overcome intra-Grayson strife to fill out that resume with rando positions time and again.) And then, from a staffing standpoint: We're already losing Connor Paolo, so it's a little strange to kick off another key player—to be clear, Ashley's contract was not renewed, so it's the show's choice.

But this might not be the end of changes coming to Revenge—just as Community recently did, the drama just replaced its original show-runner, Mike Kelley, with a new top producer, Sunil Nayar.

I'll really miss Ashley, and I bet a lot of other viewers will too. I have to imagine this came to a surprise to her, since the show is so enigmatic about where its story lines are headed. When our Jess asked her, back in March, if Ashley had any secret motives on the show, she answered: "Well, thus far, no. I could say no, and then of course I’ll open episode 19, and she’ll be the head of the Initiative. Thus far, no she’s not. This is a show that I did not know I slept with Conrad this whole halfway through season two. I didn’t know that had happened, so anything is possible, which is super fun, by the way."

What do you think about this departure?

Photo: ABC

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Megan AngeloEntertainment writer. I love talking about TV so much, you'll eventually back slowly away from me at a party.